The World is my Oyster

Oysters are probably an acquired taste. I don’t understand just why I have no problem eating them, when I would rather top myself than have to eat locusts or other creepy crawlies. But anything from the sea is fine with me.

I would never have thought of oysters as a chinese dish, but last Saturday I was introduced to them by a co-worker.

Steamed oysters – on the half-shell – in black bean sauce, garnished with finely chopped spring onions and red chilies. They were huge. The biggest one approximately 8 inches wide. The shells were piping hot and the taste of the oysters themselves shone through the spicy sauce.

The small chinese restaurants on Amsterdam’s Zeedijk have nothing to go for them as far as atmosphere is concerned -but a plate full of decorative oysters draws attention, and before you know it, you are chatting with the other customers, obviously ‘foodies’ like yourself. It makes up for the barren tables and neon light. No frills. Just food.

At 2,75 guilders a piece the oysters make an excellent starter cum converstation piece. The Peking Duck that followed… would be a journal entry in itself.